The NBA trade deadline is quickly approaching and teams are scrambling to try and improve before it's too late. The Atlanta Hawks have been one of the busiest teams Thursday and that continued with less than an hour before the deadline passes. The Hawks have agreed to trade Justin Holiday and Frank Kaminsky to the Houston Rockets in exchange for Bruno Fernando and Garrison Matthews.
It's an interesting trade deadline for the Hawks as they have appeared to turn their season around. Atlanta opened the season struggling mightily and falling to the bottom of the Eastern conference. But they have played much better the last couple of months and with so much talent heading out west, Atlanta is actively trying to get better.
Fernando is the key piece in this trade. He is an incredibly athletic big man who is a solid rebounder. However, his minutes had diminished significantly in Houston this year, logging just over 11 per game.
Meanwhile, the Rockets are in full rebuild mode. They have also been very busy Thursday. Houston was part of a 3-team trade that sent Eric Gordon to the Los Angeles Clippers, Luke Kennard to the Memphis Grizzlies and Danny Green landed in Houston. Separately, they traded for John Wall, who is likely to be bought out as part of a salary dump.
Thursday has been one of the busiest NBA trade deadline days in the history of the league. There were a number of smaller trades that happened that, like this deal, are not likely to tip the scale of championship aspirations. Nevertheless, players are getting moved and teams are positioning themselves to either win now or for the future.
The Rockets are clearly in the latter category whereas Atlanta is in a bit of purgatory as the trade deadline nears.
Follow Us
Subscribe